You're doing it all wrong!

Actual conversation in my house tonight:

Me (talking about G-man): He ate really well today.

Scott: Yeah, lunch and dinner. What about breakfast?

Me: What about breakfast? What did you make him?

Scott: I didn't make him anything. Didn't you?

Me: I wasn't here for breakfast, remember? 

Scott: Um, I don't think I made him anything.

Me: You didn't feed him breakfast?!

Scott: Wait, you gave him a [energy] bar before you went to work. Wasn't that breakfast?

Me: No! That was a snack.

Scott: Oh, well, I didn't give him anything else. I guess that was his breakfast. 

This was followed up by an observation from Scott that we are turning into my parents. While they did/do their best, being on top of things isn't always high on their list. I have a sneaking suspicion that I really have other siblings, but they were the ones that didn't get picked up from the gas station/church/mall where they were left behind (unlike my remaining two brothers and I that have always been retrieved). Or, they were accidentally left on top of the car as it drove away, stuffed in a drawer with the laundry, passed out as halloween candy. You get the picture.

But this reminded me of something that I consider one of my mommy mantras: the G-man doesn't know if we're doing it all wrong. 

Let's face it, he has no idea he missed breakfast or we made a mistake. Other than a slight possibility he was hungry (a stretch for him), nothing was out of the ordinary today.

This is sometimes what keeps me going. Sure, I've made a lot of parenting mistakes, but get this: he doesn't know! He's not keeping score. I don't have to beat myself up for it and can give myself a break when I reflect on what a terrible mom I was that day. 

When we're late for playgroup, he has no idea. Ditto if I put him in dirty clothes because the dryer didn't get turned on. Peanut butter on a hot dog bun? Fine with him. 

While I lament that he didn't come with an instruction manual, he also didn't arrive with a checklist for what his parents should do. I think that balances it out a bit. No points deducted for forgotten rain boots, skipped pages in a book, lack of parental artistic talent, mismatched socks, soap in his eyes, giant boogers in his nose or shoddily placed diapers. 

So to you moms of 2 year olds who missed breakfast with santa because you couldn't get out the door in time, skipped the craft project at the library because it involved glue or simply forgot to change your kid out of the jammies all day, it's ok. They don't know.

Now what will I do when he's older and I don't have this safety net?